Everin
by Gemstone1225
Summary: Everin was a poor farmboy. This is, before the Spine gave him the best gift of his life-a gold dragon egg, though Everin does not know at first. It soon hatches Solace, Everin's new companion for life. With new friends, but new enemies, Everin must face his fears and become what everyone needs-the Chosen One, and the boy to defeat King Valklyone.
1. the Golden Stone

**Golly gee, this is the fourth version of this! Hopefully it is the last one. Short time, huh, for a new king to take over Alagaesia. Well, Eragon, that's what you get. So we brought in Everin! BOOM! And, y'know, loads of other people… anyway, review, enjoy, and review! Review! REEEEEVIIEEEW! NO! COME BAAAAAAAAAAACK! REVIEEEEEW…!**

**~Gemstone**

Eragon sat in his throne tiredly. The throne wasn't necessary—he had requested a chair, just to sit in an open place where the kids could get to him, but the kids insisted upon making him a grand throne. All of the Riders-in-training were out flying, and Saphira had begged Eragon to do the same, but he was simply too tired. Eragon had spent a long day instructing Sarvirok and Mirallia, with help from Aeidan and Bid'Duam, yes, but _still. _Eragon cursed himself for not focusing on Sarvirok and Mirallia earlier. _Eragon._ Eragon groaned and waved his hand. _Saphira, please not now…_

_ERAGON! _

Eragon sat bolt upright in his 'chair'. _Aidirn? _

_Yes, Aidirn! And Kai is here, too! We're coming back right now!_

_Why?_

_Just open the gates!_

Eragon jumped up and sprinted through the open pillared hallway. Starts glinted and it seemed fairly peaceful, but Eragon knew better. Aidirn's tone had been sharp and anxious—this was no drill. As he reached the black iron gates, Eragon unclipped them with "_Relkshr." Unlock _in the ancient language. It was the only way anybody could unlatch the gates, so only Riders could get through. As for the open sky, a force field covered the rest to keep New Vroengard safe from anything that may harm the new Riders and Eragon or Saphira—so, basically, everything.

Eragon shoved open the gates with his shoulder and called Saphira quickly. A dart of blue landed by his side in an instant, and Saphira looked around questioningly. _Why have you summoned me here, little one? _asked Saphira. Eragon shook his head. _I've no earthly idea._ Eragon waited, the cold night air swirling around him and making him feel clammy. Eragon shivered openly and his dark eyes darted around the dark sky, searching for the slightest hint of silver or brown. _There! _An unexpected cry from Saphira startled Eragon. He jumped, but narrowed his eyes at the spot Saphira was talking about.

A hint of chocolate was speeding towards New Vroengard at an unnatural speed. Eragon backed up and stood beside the gates, watching worriedly as the brown dragon sped towards them ever faster. At the last moment, the brown dragon reared up and flew through the gates. Eragon wildly looked around for the silver dragon that was supposedly coming. When nothing proved to be it, Eragon reluctantly close the gates and locked them.

"Er…agon…." panted Kai as he dismounted Tequix, the brown dragon. Eragon rushed over and hammered Kai with questions. He felt bad, but they needed to be answered right away. However, before Eragon was finished, Kai interrupted abruptly. "Egg…gold…attack… Aeidan… Bid'Duam… Kil'Stra… Kyn… Jaike… Shruikan… attack…." Eragon's eyes widened as he understood what Kai was saying. Aidirn and his silver dragon Essix were not there because they had stopped, to help Aeidan, Bid'Duam, Kyn, Kil'Stra, Jaike and Shruikan, who had all been on guard of the Egg. And now the egg was gone. Eragon closed his eyes tightly. If he believed this wasn't real, maybe it wasn't… he realized his foolishness right away. This was no game. The Egg was gone. Eragon turned to see four dragons flying towards him: three rather weakly. He rushed to open the gates. One black, one blue, one white and one silver. Aidirn had brought them.

Eragon needed answers. 

. . .

Everin fished around in his pack. After weeks in the Spine, most of his food was gone and only some stale bread and cold cheese were left. If he didn't get a good kill soon, he would have to return empty-handed to Storgin-Ruehaw, his village right next to the Spine. His family would near starve through the coming winter… no. Everin shook his head vigorously. Allan, Madalyn and Philipe were the last family Everin knew off. He wouldn't let them starve, not after Philipe and his now deceased wife, Fionas, raised him. As poor sheepherders, yes, but with a bed, food, and warmth, and that was very, very kind, because Philipe and Fionas had been so, so poor.

Everin grinded his teeth and immediately cursed himself for the sound. Everin was fourteen, close to manhood but not so close. A mop of cinnamon curls was atop his head, and slightly darker eyebrows rested above his coffee-colored eyes. He was slightly short for fourteen, with freckles across his nose.

A small rustling in the woods. Everin drew his bow and aimed at the swaying undergrowth. However, instead of fair game, from the thick greenery burst a shaking grizzly bear, beady eyes narrowing on Everin. Everin was too slow, feeling sluggish after his long wait in that bush for prey to come about. The grizzly was atop him in the matter of three seconds. Everin's bow snapped and slid out of reach, and his pack was squashed under him, spoiling his only remaining food. Everin closed his eyes and flinched away from the humid, stinky breath of the menacing grizzly. A huge roar echoed throughout the Spine, and Everin prepared for the end.

It never came.

Instead, the weighing breath of the perilous grizzly lifted. Everin was left with his hollow fear that the grizzly was waiting to pounce. Then another roar filled the silence—this one definitely coming from a larger animal, and definitely angry. Another stab of fear pierced Everin. Was this new, larger, and obviously more deadly animal going to kill him? Everin lay still, waiting for the ripping, tearing bite that was going to come next. Instead, he heard the soft _plump_ of grass as somebody dropped onto it. This made Everin sit up.

Nothing was there.

Relief flooded through him, a tide that almost came out in a cry of pure joy. Then he saw something in a newly formed clearing that had not been there before. Everin, now extremely cautious, edged towards it, then as he left the concealing bush he saw how the new clearing had been made. A circle of charred ground was in the very center, and trees had been blown away from the circle, creating a sort of dome. To Everin, it seemed almost as though the trees were leaning away from the object in the middle of the charred circle of earth, as though they were afraid of it. Terrified of it. But Everin didn't know how—it didn't seem exactly… scary.

It was a long smooth stone—not just smooth, but totally free of a single, tiny notch or dent on the entire surface. And the stone was unusually a deep gold, and the color maintained throughout the entire oval stone, save the few thin tendrils of white spiraling through it. Everin was almost afraid to touch it. He glanced around, but nothing, nothing besides the odd clearing, was out of the ordinary—no swaying in the dense forest, no darkness covering his new view of the night sky. Almost ruefully, Everin snaked out a finger and touched the stone lightly, then withdrew his hand very fast. Nothing happened, so Everin placed a hand upon it for several moments. Still nothing happened.

Satisfied that the stone would do no harm, Everin pondered what to do with it. Now without food, he would need to journey back to Storgin-Ruehaw, and quickly. Then he would have no food for the winter, and he, Allan, Madalyn and Philipe would have to bargain with the villagers. However, Everin wondered if the stone was worth any money. It seemed valuable, with a hardness stronger than diamond but a color richer than gold. Everin, still wondering what was to happen to the stone, emptied his pack. His remaining cheese was, as he had expected, smashed into uneatable state, and the bread reduced to crumbles. Disgusted and let down, Everin tossed the small pouches aside and realized his pack was now empty aside for his sleeping back.

With a final, quick decision, Everin cautiously lifted the stone into his pack drew the drawstring tightly. Hefting the straps onto his shoulders, Everin swayed for a surprised second. The stone was heavier than he had realized. Everin began the long trek back to Storgin-Ruehaw. It was hours, many, until the sun broke the inky night, and even then, a small amount of light reached the floor of the Spine. Everin's eyes drooped weakly, and almost unconsciously he found a big old redwood to camp by. Everin unpacked his sleeping bag and hid the bag, in case somebody tried to steal the stone. Before sleeping, Everin tucked his silver knife into his shoe. He was snoring before his head hit the pillow.

**HEEEEY! You did read it! Yay! I hope you liked it. Next chapter will be up soon! I'm rereading the Inheritance series now. After that, I'll reread it again, and again, and again… The OC form I'm putting up will last this entire book, and next book, and the book after that, and the book after that. OC's are always welcome and I will use 99.9% of them. The .1% I am not using are the ones that are severely overpowered. All other ones will be welcome, unless your dragon is gold! Then I will ask you to change your dragon's color and BOOM! You are in! I do have a lot of dragon and Rider OC's I made up, but there were two hundred something eggs, right? So there will be lots of Riders! You can make more than one OC, too! So if you can't decide what your dragon should be like, choose one and use the other choice(s) to make more OC's! The more, the merrier!**

**~Gemstone**

**OC Form**

**Name (First and last):**

**Dragon's Name (Just first):**

**Appearance:**

**Dragon's Appearance:**

**Relationships (Friends, family, etc.):**

**Dragon's Relationships (Friends, family, etc.):**

**Personality:**

**Dragon's Personality:**

**Hometown:**

**Background (please not anything terribly tragic):**

**Weapon of Choice:**

**Age:**

**Anything Else:**


	2. the Yellow Dragon

**I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! I haven't got any OC's yet because I'm typing this on the same day the first chapter went up, so… yeah. Anyway, I hope you liked chapter one, **_**The Golden Stone **_**I think it was called. Right, so that was cool, right? You're about to feel bad for Everin in a second though—not because of Solace, and I know you know her name because it is in the summary, but because of…well…you'll see. Anyway, just so you know, Tequix, that brown dragon—he is **_**gorgeous. **_**He is chocolate brown with matching eyes and he is strong and big and leaderlike and… oh, right, there is a story going on. Heh. Knew that. I'll stop my rambling of gorgeous dragons now—no, wait, look! I've got an OC… sweet!**

**~Gemstone**

Everin awoke to stabs of hunger clawing at his stomach. He sat straight up with a cry and doubled over in pain. It was midday—the _next day_! Trembling with hunger, Everin packed and fit his pack snugly on his shoulders. Not wanting to walk with his knife in his shoe, he removed it and stuck it carefully in a pocket of his pack. Everin shakily began to walk towards Storgin-Ruehaw. The hours of walking eroded him, it seemed, tearing at him until Everin swore he was only a couple specks of dust. But he kept walking. It was winter—close to no wildlife twittered in the trees or rustled in the bushes. The occasional stream was edged with jagged ice and the small drinking pools that were scattered throughout the Spine had completely frozen over.

His pack seemed much heavier now, as if he lugging a ton of bricks. After hours of walking, the sun began to sink low in the sky and cast ribbons of light across the azure sky. Everin continued walking. He feared that if he stopped, he would not have the strength to get up and keep going in the morning. The freezing night air seemed to press in on him. It was a starless, moonless night and Everin could barely see a thing. He was beginning to have occasional spasms, and hunger gnawed at his insides. Everin bit his lip to keep from crying out and kept walking. He wished he had not thrown away those bread crumbs. Everin's eyelids fell alarmingly close to closing when it happened. In the almost complete absence of light, he saw—or heard? Everin was not sure, his senses were mixed in his haze of hunger—a rustle in the bushes. Everin immediately crouched as silently as possible.

A fat brown rabbit ambled out of the brush, lazily wiggling its tail. Everin drew his knife from his boot and threw it. It hit its mark, piercing the rabbit's heart. Everin stood and ran up to it. Meat! Hunger forgotten, Everin ran his hands over the soft brown fur. It was there Everin spent the night, skinning and cooking the rabbit. He supposed he could use the skin to buy more meat, and sell the golden stone, too, because the rabbit would hardly be enough even if he didn't eat any to quench his hunger. Allan, Madalyn, and Philipe didn't have much of an appetite, but they needed much meat for the winter. Everin ate several bites of the rabbit before realizing and stopped himself, packing away the skin and the meat.

Everin, with a satisfied stomach, made camp against a tree and drifted into a light sleep, troubled by dreams of dragons.

_A young boy with sandy blond hair and blue eyes walked along a beach, wriggling his toes into the sand. Everin watched with interest, wondering as to why his dreams had sent him here. _

Luna, where are you?

I am coming, little one.

_Everin stood, baffled, for a moment. The boy had not spoken, but rather Everin felt he had eavesdropped on a conversation happening within the boy's mind. Little one, the other voice had said. The boy's name could hardly be 'little one'. _

_Everin gasped and fell onto the soft beach as a yellow dragon dove from the concealment of the clouds. Its wings tightly folded, it plummeted towards the ground, and the boy smiled, reaching up as though he could touch it. The dragon's scales were brilliant, like a topaz but with a bit more yellow in it. It had ivory claws, teeth, and spikes, and looked much more deadly than the bear Everin had been attacked by about twenty-four hours ago. It roared, and it was a happy sound, like the dragon was joyful._

_It landed loudly on the beach, sending sand up in big clouds. The boy hacked some out, then wiped grains out of his eyes. Again, Everin felt as though he were eavesdropping when he heard:_

Really, Luna, was that necessary? Never mind now, though. Shall we fly, now? You promised, as did I, that we would do so when you returned. _Everin thought it wad the boy's voice speaking. The next voice was obviously feminine, and Everin took on the feeling that the dragon was speaking to the boy. And Everin believed the boy was going to ride the dragon. Dragons only let their Riders ride them, usually. Everin, with a gasp, realized automatically that the boy was a Dragon Rider, and the dragon, whom he called Luna, was his dragon. _

Yes, Owen, we shall fly now—come on. _The boy—Owen—climbed onto Luna and leaned down first, throwing his arms around the great yellow dragon's neck. Luna blinked at him warmly with eyes like her hide and hummed, a deep sound that rolled through the beach. Owen sat up and readied himself in the saddle, a wide grin split across his face. Luna spread her large wings and leapt off the beach, soaring into the sky in a majestic flurry of glory. _

_Everin expected his dream to follow the dragon and Rider, but he remained firmly on the beach, left to watch with—was that longing he was feeling?—a feeling embedded in his very being. Everin's dream did not end. He gladly watched Luna and Owen glide off until he could see them no more, and once again Everin was only staring at the horizon, where the ocean met the sky._

Everin sat bolt upright, puzzled as to why his dreams had brought him to a dream of Riders and dragons. He rather felt he had been awakened. Fear stabbing his heart as he remembered the bear attack, Everin grabbed his knife and held it, ready to attack or defend.

Another harmless rabbit was nibbling at a leaf on a bush. Everin resisted laughing. This rabbit was snowy. Everin threw his knife once more, and threw true. It skewered the rabbit. Everin jumped out if his sleeping back and knelt by it. He went through the classic procedures once more—skinning, cooking, cleaning. Packing up the food and skin, Everin slipped back into his sleeping bag, a smile upon his lips.

It seemed less than six hours ago, fate had put difficult things in his path. Now Everin felt as though fate was babying him.

. . .

Everin packed up his things as the sun rose ever higher in the sky. He had not endured more dreams in his sleep; a rather a dreamless sleep had come to him. Two more times during the night, fate had favored Everin. He now had four rabbit skins in his pack, which was growing now heavier. His sleep had been rather limited as the rabbits had hopped into his campsite. Everin walked once more in the direction of Storgin-Ruehaw.

The sun lazily moved across the azure sky as Everin hiked through the Spine, his pack slowing him down considerably, Everin was surprised to see the village at sundown. Seeing the butcher Denrath's shop, the hunter Radagast's shop, and the tavern the Red Dragon, Everin felt a stab of joy shoot through him. He burst into a tired run and resolved to first go to Denrath's place, then to Radagast's to but Madalyn new deer hide gloves. He supposed if he went fast enough, he may have enough time to visit the Red Dragon. The owner of the Red Dragon, Lancelot, was on… uneasy terms with Everin.

Everin walked into Denrath's shop and waved a greeting. Denrath grinned. "Hail, Everin! The great hunter returns!" He looked over Everin, obviously searching for a kill. "With his invisible catch." Everin laughed, a bit uneasily. "No, Denrath, I have four rabbit skins and meat in my pack. Would you trade some pork for a rabbit skin? Perhaps two?"

"One is all I need. My dear Cassidy needs some gloves, much like her friend little Madalyn." Everin nodded, putting his pack down and pulling out the brown rabbit skin. He walked over to the counter and slapped it down. Denrath threw Everin some pork.

"Thank you, Denrath."

**No cliffhanger, just like last chapter! I'm listening to Minecraft parodies as I type this, so excuse me if I randomly break out in song like… TAKE BACK THE NIGHT! OOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry. Anyway, next chapter you meet Allan, Madalyn, and Philipe and Everin's first Rider! Besides himself, you know. And Cassidy, you meet her, too. Well I think that's all. Shout out to all who review! Peace out!**

**Se onr sverdar sitja hvass! **

**~Gemstone **


	3. the Boy at the Bar

**THIS. IS. SO. FUN. I LOVE writing this story so I hope you guys like to read it! I'm into my characters and I hope you are too, and I'm so thankful to everybody who is following this fic with me, especially the people who review! Thank you SO MUCH for liking this story and I hope you follow me with this, because I am so ready for all of your suggestions, reviews, and OC's! Let's power through this fanfiction together guys!**

**~Gemstone**

Leaving Denrath's shop with a comfortable amount of pork, Everin walked towards Radagast's house. He climbed to rickety steps and rapped his knuckles on he crude door. Much in Storgin-Ruehaw was like this. Valklyone had his supporters. He had his dragon, even, Eradous. But he had his enemies. When in harsh winters had Valklyone helped Storgin-Ruehaw? When had he supplied them with better living? Never.

Everin was about to turn back down the steps when Radagast answered, his beard slightly damp and smelling of mead. "What do you want, boy?" grumbled Radagast. Everin was not offended. Radagast was like this to everybody, and he was drunk. "Trade," offered Everin. "Two rabbit skins, or one, for some deer hide?" Radagast looked over Everin testily. "Two are worth a full deer hide, Son of None. Wait here." While Radagast went back into his house, Everin fished around in his pack, his fingers brushing once against the golden stone he had found.

A shiver went down Everin's spine. He hastily pulled out two rabbit skins and held them ready while Radagast returned with a smaller deer hide, that of a small doe. Everin took it gratefully and gave Radagast, in return, the rabbit skins. Radagast examined them. "Of a fine specimen," he declared. Everin left with an unexpected smile upon his lips. With the deer hide over his shoulder, he worked his way to the Red Dragon.

Everin had no money, but he had a rabbit hide and the stone. He sat at the bar and waited for Lancelot grudgingly. While he waited, Everin pondered over his father. His title was 'Everin Son of None' because his father was not actually Philipe, nor in any way was he related to them. He knew not of his mother, nor his father, of course. Everin was content with his life as a shepherd, but he often longed to know his true parents. He considered Philipe, Allan, and Madalyn family of course, but he couldn't deny his feelings that were telling him to find his parents if they were still living.

Lancelot tromped over to Everin, smacking his hand on the table to gain his attention. "What do you want, Everin?" Everin looked up, snapped out of his thoughts. "What? Oh—perhaps some orange juice and steak. I'm famished." Lancelot growled under his breath and he ambled off, awkward on his prosthetic leg. "I'll bet you are." Everin's face darkened. No matter how much he tried to be friendly, he couldn't deny his own hatred for Lancelot as Lancelot chose not to ignore his hatred of the boy. Everin fished around in his pack for the golden stone. He wanted desperately to get rid of it, now. Putting it on the table as Lancelot returned, Everin gulped down his orange juice and gobbled the steak hungrily. Lancelot could only watch, disgusted.

"Payment, Son of None?" Everin rolled his eyes. He pushed the golden stone towards Lancelot. "Here." Lancelot examined it testily. He seemed suspicious of Everin's willing to give up a seemingly valuable object. "This is no trick?"

"No."

"This isn't fake gold?"

"That I don't know—what do you assume?"

"Where is it from?"

Here Everin hesitated. All villagers in Storgin-Ruehaw besides himself of course feared and hated the Spine. Lancelot was a man who desired power, Everin knew, though. He, Everin supposed, may not care where the stone came from a long as it was worth something. "The Spine."

"The _Spine?_ Take it back, boy, I know not of the horrors in the Spine, and I wish still not to! What other things have you of payment? If nothing, you will be in my debt!" Everin gritted his teeth as he put away the golden stone. A new stranger wandered into the tavern and sat at the seat next to the seat next to Everin, but Lancelot pointedly ignored him. "What else have you got boy, besides the accursed object from the Spine?" Everin presented his last rabbit skin. "This." Lancelot examined it, then pushed it away with as sneer. "You are in my debt, boy. I should start asking for payment before I deliver the food." Everin took up the argument heatedly. "No, you just want me to be in your debt! This skin is enough for that meal!"

"No, three skins, maybe! Or that deer hide!"

"I paid two skins for the deer hide, that's a rip off! And the deer hide's for Madalyn!"

"GET OUT OF MY BAR!"

"I WILL PAY!"

"I'LL pay. Here," came a new voice. It was the stranger boy. Everin turned to him, surprised. He had messy brown hair, bright brown eyes, and olive skin. He was a bit tall. He slid over some coins. Lancelot grabbed them and counted. He glared at Everin. "You're saved, boy. But don't ever come into my bar without payment again." Lancelot tromped off. "I DO have payment!" Everin yelled after him angrily. He noticed the boy looking at him strangely and adverted his eyes to the bar as he stood and prepared to leave the Red Dragon.

"What—what _did _you find in the Spine?" asked the boy curiously. Everin turned back to him, confused. Why was this boy interested? "Nothing."

. . .

When Everin woke in his bed, he barely remembered the previous night and walking home. He slung his pack off and put it on the floor, then removed the meet and the remaining skin. With his rabbit skin, rabbit meat, and deer hide, Everin tromped downstairs, where Allan was already awake and sitting at the table with Philipe. He looked at Everin jokingly. "We were waiting for breakfast." Everin laughed and put the skins on the table. "While I make stew, do me a favor: make Madalyn some new gloves." Allan nodded and Philipe grinned as they got to work.

Everin put the meat on the counter and walked out to the well. Tying the bucket to the rope, he pulled up some water and picked some mushrooms. After he cleaned the mushrooms and made sure they were the eating kind, Everin picked some joke ones and cleaned those, too. Putting the joke mushrooms in his pocket, Everin walked back inside with the bucket of water with the mushrooms in it.

While Everin worked to make the food, he recalled happily how glad he was that Allan and Philipe were excellent leathersmiths. Everin slurped his bowl clean, and was scooping out the remainders when Madalyn came out. "Hi, Everin!" she greeted happily, and took her place at the table. Everin stood and cleaned the bowls, then walked back to the table. "I am going to town," he announced. Allan stood, too. "I'll come," he decided. Madalyn shrugged. "I'll stay and help Papa with the sheep—I think Chester needs a little help."

Everin grinned ruefully as he imagined Chester, the baby buckhorn sheep just born, walking around on his gangly, wobbly legs. Philipe smiled, too. "Thank you, Madalyn," he said. "I appreciate it. Go now, boys, while the day is young—I'd wager you will get a good lot of hours there." Allan grinned. "Thank you, Father—come on, Everin!"

Allan led the way to Storgin-Ruehaw, and he left Everin to be creative as he walked off to meet Rhea, a girl Allan swore he was not involved with, yet Everin, being the sneaky boy that he was, had seen them together often. Everin met Harlow Iguersson by the Red Dragon. Harlow grinned when he saw his friend.

Harlow held up two wooden swords. "Swordplay then, Everin?"

Everin would have been glad to stay in Storgin-Ruehaw night and day, playing swords with Harlow and any boys who came up wishing to join.

Alas, that was not to be.

**I hope you liked it! You met Solace and I lied, you didn't meet Cassidy, sorry about that. You also met Everin and Solace's first dragon and Rider. Or should we count Owen and Luna? Well, I suppose since Everin didn't actually meet Owen and Luna, they don't count. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Se onr sverdar sitja hvass!**

**~Gemstone**


	4. Solace

**HI! I'm back and still pumped for this story! I hope you liked last chapter, I did, but I wrote it, so I want your opinions—and OC's! I told you can post any OC as long as the dragon isn't gold and the OC is not super overpowered! I don't need them, but I'd like them a lot, so yeah! Peace! Oh, and also, in the first chapter, Aidirn's dragon? Her name is Lillya actually and she is dark blue. I changed it and I just realized it, so yeah. Peace now. **

**~Gemstone**

Everin was taking the spare time he had in Storgin-Ruehaw contemplating the dream of the yellow dragon, Luna, and the Rider, Owen. He sat on a dead log near the forest and watched three little boys, Yoshu, Kine, and Sandon, playing a game they called 'Riders', each using their horse, one smoky gray, one chestnut, and one inky black, as dragons. Everin did particularly like watching this game.

Then something he had not expected happened. A soldier in mother-of-pearl armor marched up and, brandishing a shining, iridescent diamond sword, began yelling at the boys. Everin jumped off the log and rushed down, waving his hands and yelling at the soldier.

"Hey, they're just playing a game!"

"A game that offends the king?"

"How?" Everin saw, with growing satisfaction, the man bypass turning red and turning maroon instead. He brandished his sword. "You watch it—what's your name?"

"Everin Son of None." The man lowered his sword a fraction. "No father?" Everin shrugged. He didn't want the soldier's sympathy. Anybody who agreed to willingly work for Valklyone had something wrong with them. "Yes." The man sheathed his sword. "Me either." Everin felt surprising sympathy for the soldier himself, as the soldier held out a hand. "Io." Everin shook the hand.

Io became the friendliest soldier in the world suddenly, even apologizing to the boys for yelling at them, and the boys happily continued their game. Io followed Everin to the 'thinking log,' as Everin had dubbed it. He seemed now perfectly comfortable with the boy he had just met, with unnerved Everin a little bit, but honored him as well.

"The soldiers killed my father when I refused to join them, then I joined up to protect my wife and children, see," said Io. He continued about what it was like in Valklyone's service, and for once, Everin was really listening.

It surprised Everin when Io told him the sun was setting, and if he had a place to stay. Everin said yes. Io was confused. "But you said you don't have a father," said Io. Everin shrugged. "I don't. I live with my uncle." And he stood and left, leaving Io on the thinking log, undoubtedly thinking.

_A boy standing on a cliff, stationary, perched on the tips of his toes. He stood defiantly against the billowing breeze, his black hair being swept back and his clothes doing the same. He watched the horizon with brown eyes, and it was then Everin realized it really was very early. The sun was rising, overcoming the depths of the indigo ocean below the edge of the cliff that the boy was standing on. The sun dyed the sky several shades of gold, yellow, orange, red, purple, and blue, and that light reflected into the clouds._

_The boy spoke for the first time, but his lips did not move, not did he move at all—much like Owen and Luna, Everin realized with a shock, the words were inside his head. _I am ready, Junalis.

_And in a single, smooth movement, the boy dove with a perfect form off the cliff. Everin's dream followed the boy as he flew down the cliff. But he did not stay in a diving form. He positioned his legs and arms as though he was riding something, and fell exactly like that._

Junalis, where are you?

_The boy was obviously falling farther than he had planned. Everin could see the panic registering on his face. _

_Then a great black dragon leapt from the clouds._

_Its glittering midnight scales also reflected the multiple colors the sun was casting upon the azure sky. The smallest scales on it were starry white, and Everin had the sudden feeling that the dragon would perfectly blend with the night sky. It fell much faster than the boy was, wings folded down._

I am coming.

_The dragon caught up to the boy in no time, and positioned itself under the boy then spread its wings so it blew up quickly, suddenly, and without warning. The boy landed on her back like he had been riding her all this time, and the dragon flapped her wings three times and soared upwards. Everin expected the dream to just continue falling and not follow the boy and dragon, as it has with Luna and Owen, but once again it surprised him._

_He, too, soared upwards, as though he himself were flying, and he flew right next to the boy and the dragon—whom, Everin realized, must be Junalis, for that was who the boy had called for, and this was who had come. _Junalis, what took you so long?

I am sorry, Eyan. I flew higher than I should have, and I overestimated how fast I could fall.

That is okay Junalis, I forgive you. _Eyan, without saying anything, worked in sync with Junalis to perform an extremely complicated move that involved several figure-eight loop-the-loops and lots of sudden twists, dives, and sharp turns. Everin could tell that Eyan and Junalis had invented the move themselves, but it looked so professional that Everin rather thought they had spent at least a couple months on it._

_Finally the dream began taking him from following Eyan and Junalis in flight. He flew backward until they became a tiny dot on the horizon, and then his vision began to fade to black…_

Everin sat bolt upright in bed, wondering as to why his dreams had dragged him to dragons once more. He wondered what had woke him up. The moon was still shining through his window and it was clearly very late at night. Everin shrugged and was about to settle back down onto his pillow when he heard it.

_Crack._

Everin sent his blanket flying as he sat bolt upright, head moving wildly around the room. He shrugged, sinking back into his pillow. Then he heard the sound again. He jumped out of bed and leapt over to his shelf. Because there was one thing that the cracking noise could be coming from, Everin thought with a touch of fear.

One thing.

The golden stone indeed had a crack laced through it. Tendrils of silver Everin hadn't noticed before led the crack until it separated the egg into five large pieces. The once-unblemished surface was flawless no more. As the five pieces fell away, a fear, anticipation, and excitement gripped Everin. The world seemed to crumble around him. Nothing else mattered. His vision funneled and all he could see was the creature the egg had housed.

A small golden dragon was sitting in Everin's shelf. 

**SO AWESOME! I hope you liked this chapter, I did, I know it was a bit short, so sorry about that. The golden egg has hatched! The prophecy is beginning, and Valklyone won't be happy. Next chapter you'll learn of Valklyone's deadly weapon… I'm so excited to tell you! No hints, because if somebody figures it out and tells everybody, I'll get mad because it is a surprise. I'm sorry Valklyone is so OP, as you'll learn in chapter five, but he is the major villain, so he's supposed to be. I mean, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty's only special powers were true love, and they were up against really powerful dark magicians like Maleficent and the Evil… sorry, that's off topic. See you next chapter! **

**Se onr sverdar sitja hvass!**

**~Gemstone **


	5. The Deliverer

**Hello! Hello! Yes, it is me! Do not worry-flurry, the story must go on! Bad cliffhanger last chapter, I know, I'm sorry—well, no, never mind, I'm not. I haven't much to say, so onto the chapter, yes? Oh, and the OC's posted? They come in when Everin goes to New Vroengard, so maybe in a chapter or two, don't worry, I'll use them! Thank you for Sterlin, Olivia and Amelie, Guest, liv11, and Laonasa Enllyn Avery! The Egg has hatched! The Egg has hatched! Sound the alarm, Riders and dragons, for the Egg has hatched!**

**~Gemstone**

Nothing existed but Everin and the dragon.

_Everin._

A distinctly female voice reverberated within Everin's mind. He jumped, falling back onto his bed. Disbelief overrode everything, shut out all feeling otherwise. He was afraid, but it winked out as the disbelief took over his body. Everin remained completely silent, unwilling to believe what was so clear to the dragon, apparently. Still wet from the egg, it shook itself and mewled. Everin realized it was a feeble attempt at a roar.

A laugh nearly worked its way to the surface, but seriousness won and Everin swallowed it. The dragon looked as though it knew exactly was Everin had refrained from doing, and gave him a glare. Everin quailed. The eyes of the dragon fascinated him. They were not a single color. They continued to change, from brown, to blue, to green, and so on. A deep violet came next. Its scales were brilliant, molten gold; the most beautiful Everin had ever laid eyes on. It flapped wings identically colored to its scales testily. On the bottom of its wings and on the bottoms of its neck and tail, as well as on its stomach, were random brilliant silver scales. They were the smallest and placed with wide areas of golden scales in between each. Everin was not afraid. He was several things at the moment but he wasn't afraid.

With hand he wasn't controlling, Everin reached out as though he was going to touch the dragon. When he did, a searing, explosive, burning pain shot up through his arms. A cry was unable to escape his lips as Everin fell backwards and the darkness took him.

. . .

When Everin woke, the dragon was in the same spot where it had been, staring at him with its bizarre eyes. It was no longer damp and sun light filtered in through the window, so Everin realized he had been unconscious for the rest of the night. It was considerably early—Everin suspected Madalyn, Allan, and Philipe were all still sleeping.

_Everin._

This time Everin didn't jump, simply stayed stock-still like the dragon. Everin knew enough about dragons to know that it was speaking in his head. His mind jumped to his hand. He examined it cautiously, expecting a grievous burn, but all that was there was a silver mark. He lifted his hand in front of his eyes, marveling.

_Everin._

"Oh, be quiet for a moment, will you?" snapped the boy. The dragon settled into a huffy kind of silence. _This is what I found in the Spine, _Everin thought amazedly, leaning closer to examine the marvelous creature. It shifted and lashed its tail and turned from side to side as he moved his head around it. Everin jumped with a start. Allan, Madalyn, and Philipe, he knew, would not like the dragon—Madalyn excluded. Everin knew he should get rid of it.

But something deep in his gut told him not to, and for some reason Everin couldn't bear the thought of pushing the dragon away. _Priority one, _Everin scolded himself, _the dragon. _There was but one place he could think of where nothing would dare attack it and no man, elf, or dwarf could find it—the Spine. It was hours until the crack of dawn; so hours Everin had. Grabbing a thin strip of white cloth and winding it around his hand to cover the silver mark, Everin held out the unmarked hand to the dragon cautiously. It gave a sniff and hopped on. Everin cupped it in both hands and tried to open the bedroom door without making a creaking noise.

Tiptoeing downstairs and out of the house, Everin finally broke into a sprint towards the Spine. Luckily his house was very near it; this angered Philipe and Allan often, for it was common for wolves, bears, bearwolves, griffins, mountain cats and such to ambush and kill their sheep. Seven times in the past year it had happened—only three times had Everin been able to save the sheep—once from a particularly nasty bearwolf with greasy black fur.

Everin had heard of Grye'tugals, or Griffin Riders, but nobody in Storgin-Ruehaw dared try to tame, lest ride a griffin. Among the villagers they were known as rabid beasts that Alagaesia would be better off without. Everin waited until he was well into the Spine before even searching for a place to hide the dragon. He found a tree with a wide hollow where roots had been forced apart into an adequately placed position for Everin to do what he needed to be done. Evidently a bearwolf had tried to dig its den here, realized the roots were too dense, and abandoned suit.

Everin began work, winding twigs and leaved together to makes a suitable round cover. He placed it above the deep indenture in the ground, trusting the uplifted roots to hold it in place in case of a windstorm or a hard rainshower. After finding a large, flat leaf to place on top of it so rain, dew, and dirt (or, in this season's case, snow) wouldn't leak through the woven roof and hooking the ends onto the roots, Everin sat back and examined his work. It was no dwarven piece of art, but Everin was nevertheless reasonably pleased, reached behind him, and placed the dragon in the hollow.

There was a small space remaining as the door, about the size of Everin's head, in which he tied a smaller but still reasonably large leaf to serve as a door that could be pushed open from the inside and outside easily. He flipped open the little door and lowered his head a fraction to peer at the dragon. It seemed happy and content in the hollow.

"Stay here," Everin instructed, and got onto his knees, preparing to leave—dawn was near and he wanted to be at home when his adoptive family awoke. The dragon cocked its magnificent golden head, apparently not understanding. "Stay here," Everin said again. The dragon mewled slightly to indicate its confusion. Everin sighed and closed his eyes, reaching out hard with his mind, attempting to communicate to the dragon the same way it had previously communicated with him.

_Stay here._

He was momentarily surprised it had worked, but his surprise turned to pleasure as the dragon sat back on its haunches, albeit reluctantly, and gave a small nod. It curled up and used its large wings as a blanket. With an unexplainable grin, Everin closed the door to the hollow and went back towards Storgin-Ruehaw.

Dawn had come when Everin, naturally assuming Philipe was awake, scaled the wall of his house to his open bedroom window and slid in, closing the window behind him. He lay for a moment on his bed, letting his brain finally accept the oddity of the night. When Everin walked down to breakfast ten minutes later, Allan, Madalyn, and Philipe were awake, Allan looking very animated.

"Everin," said Allan, when Everin had sat down, "I was thinking we could go back into town today, bring some money with us. I heard from Ornisce, the messenger, that traders from Carvahall nearby have paraded to Storgin-Ruehaw due to bad trade, I believe. We could bring a couple of coins and get some feed and food."

Philipe shook his head. "No." Allan looked slightly crestfallen, and Everin shared the feeling. He, too, had wished to go to the town, to visit Ion and to have some fun with the traders. Philipe continued. "We need no more material for winter—go to town and but whatever you choose, as long as you get something for Madalyn, too." A grin split Allan's face and Everin's smiled as well. "Thank you, Father! Everin, do you want breakfast, or do you want to go now?" Everin was not hungry after the night's events. "Let's go now; thank you, Philipe." He followed Allan outside and they walked, together, to the town.

It was almost enough for Everin to forget he had a dragon that would, he was sure, eventually bring trouble.

Almost.

**No cliffhanger again, unless you think it is. It isn't in my opinion, but yeah, that's the end of chapter five! The Egg has hatched! EEEEEEEEEE! The story's getting going! I said you'd figure out MAYBE Valklyone's secret weapon last chapter, so I am sorry to say it was not explained. Hopefully it will be soon and if it isn't, terribly sorry, I'll get on that **

**Se onr sverdar sitja hvass! **

**~Gemstone**


	6. Boy and Dragon

**BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! We left off at going into town, right? Going to the traders. I'll just get right into the story and enjoy it, blah blah blah, and anyway, review, enjoy, review, peace!**

**~Gemstone**

Allan disappeared as soon as he and Everin arrived into the main area of Storgin-Ruehaw, and Everin, instead of journeying to the traders, doubled back to the thinking log where, surprisingly, he found Ion, whom was so deep in the keep of his mind he did not notice Everin sit down. It was likewise he did not notice when the boy promptly left.

Everin, in the months that followed, spent liberal amounts of time in the forest with the dragon, who named itself Solace, a name Everin liked considerably. As she grew, the hut became too small for her and she was forced to retreat deeper into the Spine. This was an arrangement neither Everin nor Solace appreciated, for it limited their time together. It took Everin a longer time to reach the spot where Solace now stayed, and he had to leave early in order to return home before dark. Everin found the patch between her wings an adequate place to sit—it was there he spent hours thinking. He no longer came into town, for his mind found no time to think of Ion, though at certain times a stripe of guilt plagued his mind.

Spring passed, harvest passed, and before Everin knew it, an entire year had past. Now fifteen, Everin was a year from manhood. And now much larger, (though luckily growing slower) Solace was again forced to retreat so deep into the Spine Everin hunted more frequently so he could see her.

Solace now had a full vocabulary. Everin enjoyed her company more than anyone else's—he felt that if anybody understood him, and was Solace. _I will not be able to cover our tracks for much longer, _sighed Everin wearily one night. Solace nodded and hummed deeply. _I know, little one. I am of the opinion we should leave before that happens. You will not have to explain anything. We shall leave without a trace._

_But that's the thing, Solace—we have left a trail that is not followed with difficulty. I'm surprised the Empire has not come for us! _Everin grew anxious.

_Peace. You will know what to do when the time comes._

_I hope. I just want us to be safe and happy._

_I know, little one._

He fell asleep beneath her great golden wings, have disturbed dreams of Empire soldiers coming for him and Solace. When he woke the next morning, Solace was snacking on a plump rabbit. _Solace, _he asked, for a sudden thought had come to him. _I've dreamt of other Dragon Riders. Is it possible they were true?_

Solace waved her head and swallowed. _I know not, Everin, they may be. We will look._ Everin sighed. _What if looking isn't enough?_

Solace paused. She curled around him. _Oh, Everin, are you so determined to make everything we do so difficult? We are powerful. We can do much. All you must do is believe so._

Everin smiled. He nodded. _You're right. I'm sorry I always took to a negative side of things._ Solace purred. _There is nothing to apologize for. _

The next morning Everin had returned to the village with a fine kill of a young buck. He dropped he buck off at Denrath's so he could skin and butcher it, then stopped at the Red Dragon, tavern and inn. The mysterious boy was there. Everin thanked him for earlier paying his debt. The boy smiled. "I am Jarsha," he said. Everin smiled back and held out a hand. "Everin." Jarsha shook his hand. But when Everin tried to pull back, Jarsha held his hand fast. Everin pulled harder, but Jarsha, using the force of his yank, flipped his hand over, exposing Everin's silvery mark. Everin gave an extra-hard yank and Jarsha let him go. Jarsha promptly climbed from his booth and disappeared out the door. Worried, Everin followed.

He walked out and looked around, seeing nothing but the gray smoke curling from chimneys and front porches with men discussing matters unknown to Everin. "So," said Jarsha's voice. Everin whirled around. Jarsha was leaning casually against the side of the tavern. He was balancing the hilt of a brilliantly colored turquoise sword on his right index finger with apparent ease.

"Who are you, really?" asked Everin angrily. Jarsha flipped the sword into the air and caught it firmly in his fist, but leaned the point against the ground. "I spoke truly," he insisted. "My name is Jarsha." A consciousness, not Solace's, wormed into Everin's mind. He had no idea how to block it, so it got in effortlessly. _He is my Rider, and I am known as Taj. _Everin yelled. Jarsha turned grim. "Keep your voice down," he said. "Follow me." Everin, out of curiosity, followed Jarsha into the Spine. "So tell me," said Jarsha, "where are you keeping the dragon?" Everin froze. "What?" he said weakly. "The dragon. Where are you keeping it?"

Without answering his question, Everin asked another. "You are a Rider?" Jarsha nodded. "I am, and the voice you heard was my dragon, Taj. We will meet her deeper in. Where are you keeping the dragon?" Jarsha persisted. Relenting, Everin told him. "Deep in the Spine. The arrangement suits neither of us." Jarsha nodded. "I'll bet it doesn't." Everin frowned at him, as if to ask, "What does that mean?" He was certainly thinking it. "Jarsha," he began uncertainly, "I have dreamt of other Riders, one pair revealed as Owen and Luna, another as Eyan and Junalis. What—is that normal?" Jarsha looked at Everin curiously. "Not particularly, no." Everin felt the distinct feeling that he rose above normal standards, even for a Rider. "I request that you take me to your dragon."

"Her name is Solace," grumbled Everin, nettled that Jarsha continued to call Solace "the dragon." Everin led the way through the Spine, knowing every route to his dragon by heart. Once he knew they were so deep in the Spine that Storgin-Ruehaw wouldn't be able to see a mountain flying above him, he heard a whooshing sound. Everin looked up, his curiosity getting the better of him. A large shadow fell over him and Jarsha, and Everin saw large patches of turquoise scales through the trees. In a sunlit clearing up ahead, it landed.

A brilliantly colored turquoise dragon stood on all fours, folding its incredible wings. The same consciousness that had spoken to Everin at the Red Dragon wormed into his mind once more. _I am Taj. What is your name, Rider of the Egg? _Briefly Everin wondered what Taj meant by 'Rider of the Egg', but he waved it off. _Everin, Brightscales._ Taj's kind laugh rang through his ears and Jarsha smiled, reaching up to Taj and hugging her neck. _Just Taj, Everin. _Taj hummed low as she strolled next to Jarsha.

Exhilarated by his first meeting with a dragon that was not his, Everin strolled a bit more quickly to Solace's meeting place. When he grew near enough to feel her consciousness, he slowed and spoke to her, to warn her that he was with others. But Solace beat him to it, as she spoke first. _Everin, why do I feel two stranger minds? Who is with you? _Fear for him entered her tone. _All is well, Solace, everything is fine. I am with another Rider and dragon! _

_They are friends?_

_I certainly hope so. _Everin arrived in her clearing. She was lying down, but her great golden head was up and alert as Jarsha and Taj entered the clearing. "Greetings, Great Dragon," said Jarsha, with a dip of his head. Solace looked just as confused at Everin felt. _Deliverer, _said Taj respectfully. Solace looked positively alarmed and seemed concerned for Jarsha and Taj's health.

"Everin," began Jarsha, "I would be pleased if you came with me to New Vroengard, the safe haven and the home of Riders throughout Alagaesia."

**Yeah. I know this chapter was a bit short but I hope you liked it. OC's come in to place one we go to New Vroengard so soon! Soon my friends! **

**Se onr sverdar sitja hvass!**

**~Gemstone **


End file.
